


No Longer Organic

by Lapis01



Series: Mechanical Heart [1]
Category: Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Cartoon 2018)
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Fluff, Hurt Donnie, Hurt/Comfort, Injury, Minor Character Death
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-10
Updated: 2020-09-10
Packaged: 2021-03-06 20:20:53
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,455
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26384791
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lapis01/pseuds/Lapis01
Summary: What if Shredder hadn't just clawed through Donatello's Battle Shell? What if he had actually killed the team's resident genius?The origin story for my ROTTMNT robot Donatello.
Series: Mechanical Heart [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1917616
Comments: 2
Kudos: 30





	No Longer Organic

Raph managed to push himself up just as Donatello summoned all of his tech. Hope began building up in his chest as Shredder was hidden beneath a plum of smoke. Had they won? 

That hope was ripped away when the smoke cleared and Raph witnessed Shredder dig his claws deep into Donatello's Battle Shell and tear it off. 

"Donnie!" Raph's and Mikey's shouts sliced through the air as Shredder stomped on Donatello's bare shell. A resounding crack sent fear into everyone's hearts. 

Raph shoved himself to his feet and sprinted towards where Donnie lay. Mikey slid in beside him while April ran up from behind. Shredder began clawing his way towards the boat, but they couldn't bring themselves to go after him. Not with the way Donnie had gone so still. Tears fell from each set of eyes as realization set in. Donnie was dead. 

Shredder's sudden disappearance went unnoticed as the three carefully lifted Donatello and took his body back to the Lair.

00000

"This can't be real," Leo whispered, eyes wet with tears. He and Splinter had just gotten back from putting the collar around Shredder's neck and sending the villain off to Big Mama. 

Everyone else was silent. There was simply too much pain and sadness in their hearts. 

Leo reached forwards for Donatello's limp hand. He took in into his grasp with a hiccup as more tears dripped down his face. "W-We can fix this."

"Leo," Raph spoke, gaze soft. "He's gone. There's nothing we can do..."

"No- you're wrong! Donnie always had a backup plan! We-We can still save him," Leo gasped, eyes wide. 

Splinter stepped forward and rested a hand on his son's shoulder. "Leonardo, please. I know it is difficult, but you have to let him go," he whispered. It was obvious that he was doing his best to hold his family together, but there were tears running down his face as well. 

"N-No, I'm serious! He mentioned something about backing up his memories," Leo insisted. Hope was growing in his chest. They could still save Donnie. 

"What do you mean?" Mikey's voice was incredibly quiet and shaky. The youngest was currently latched onto April's arm. 

"I mean that Donnie might have backed up his memories somehow! Maybe they're in his lab!" At this realization, Leo bolted in the direction of his deceased brother's lab. The others followed slowly behind. 

"He just needs some time to accept this," April whispered. She was shaking, despite her efforts to stay strong. "We all do.." 

Mikey hiccuped and tightened his hold on April while Raph crossed his arms and peered down at the floor as they entered the lab. 

"Sheldon," Leo called. He was shaking. 

Sheldon, having heard his name, undocked from his charging station. He floated over to the blue banded turtle with no complaint. "What'd ya need?"

"Listen. Did Donnie back up his memories somehow? Maybe on his computer?" 

Sheldon blinked, thinking. "Yeah. He stored the files on my hard drive. Why?" 

Everyone froze. Everyone but Leo, of course. The Red Eared Slider had to lean against a table when he legs almost gave out from shock. "W-We need to upload them to something. Donnie... He..." 

Splinter stepped forwards, eyes focused on Sheldon. His gaze was more serious than the turtles had seen in all their lives. "Donatello was killed by Shredder." His voice was surprisingly steady. "If you have his memories, then we need to figure out how to bring him back." 

Sheldon flinched, optics wide. "He's dead?!" He floated over to the table Leo was leaning against and landed on it, optics dim. "H-ha.. o-okay. There's really only one option, then," Sheldon said, finally. 

Leo prodded at the machine impatiently. "Well, let's get on with it! We need to bring Donnie back!"

"I can do it," Sheldon confirmed. He seemed to contemplate something before nodding to himself. "His memory files will overlap mine, but I can bring him back. He'll be in this body until he can make something new."

"Wait, wait," Raph said, gaze hardening. "Don't that mean you'll..?" 

Mikey seemed to catch into Raph's thought process. "You'd be sacrificing yourself...," He whispered. 

Sheldon nodded seldomly. "Yeah... But... 'M more than willing to do it. D is my creator. If sacrificing myself means I can bring him back? It's worth it."

Everyone looked to Splinter. The rat let out a soft sigh before making his way over to Sheldon and rested his palm on the machine's helm. "If you are certain that this is what you want to do.." 

"It is," Sheldon confirmed. 

Splinter nodded, ears flattening in sorrow. "Thank you, my friend. For everything." 

Leo placed his hand over Splinters. Next came Raph, then April, and, finally, Mikey. All four hands rested somewhere on Sheldon's frame. The mechanical turtle's gaze softened- hinting at a smile. 

"It was nice knowing you all," He said, words genuine and filled with emotion. "Give... Give Dad a hug for me, will ya?" 

"Of course," Raph replied with a sad smile. 

Sheldon shut his optics and began the overriding process. Sadness filled the air once more. 

00000

Donnie was confused when he realized his eyes were closed. Hadn't he just been backing up his memories onto Sheldon's drive? That was.. weird...

It took a moment for Donnie to realize he wasn't alone. He could hear the quiet chattering of his family. They must be worried. Donnie slowly opened his eyes and was very confused by what he was seeing. He felt... Small. Very small. Leo was standing to his left, but he looked so much larger than before. 

"He's awake!" Was that Mikey? It sounded like Mikey. 

Donnie didn't have much time to think of anything else before he was being crowded by his family. A barrage of questions were being thrown at him- too many for him to answer at once. 

One question, however, stuck out to him. 

"Donnie, is it really you?"

Donnie focused on April. She had a sad look on her face, which was.. odd. "Yeah," he said, confused when his voice sounded strangely mechanical. "Yeah, it's me." 

The world around him erupted in sound. If he thought he had been crowded before, it was absolutely nothing compared to now. He was practically in the middle of a group hug. 

"Would someone mind telling me what's going on?"

"Wait, you mean you don't remember?" Mikey was peering down at him. Why was Mikey- the shortest out of the four of them- looking down at him? 

"No? The last thing I remember was backing up some files onto Sheldon's drive," Donnie replied. He moved to push himself out of the hug, only to realize that he didn't have hands. Alarmed, he looked down at himself to find round fins instead of arms. 

"Okay, so. Don't freak out," Raph started. "But, you, ah. Kinda died while fighting the Shredder." The last part came out shaky. "So, Sheldon sacrificed himself to bring you back."

Donatello blinked. It took him quite a bit to process it all, but when he did, everything made sense. This was why he couldn't remember anything after backing up his files. It was also why he was currently in Sheldon's body, rather than his own. 

Donnie felt panic rising up inside of him, but tried to squash it down. His family must have been terrified. He didn't need to make them worry any more at this moment in time. "I think I... Need a while to process that," he whispered, optics bright. 

"We totally get it, Don," Leo replied. He reached out and placed a hand on Donnie's back. "It's a lot to take in." 

Mikey nodded in agreement. "Yeah. I mean, I don't even think I've totally come to terms with everything."

"My son, we will gladly answer any questions you may have. Just know we are here for you," Splinter said. 

Donnie slowly nodded. He felt the need to start working. Focusing on a project always helped him come to terms with things. Maybe he should start working on a new body for himself. 

"I think I need to start working on a new body," Donnie vocalized. He would definitely need help, much to his distaste. Sheldon had access to all of the Lair's systems, but Donnie was certain he would still need actually hands to help build. 

"Sure thing, Don. We can help," Raph piped up. Donnie could tell his family wasn't quite ready to leave him alone just yet. He didn't blame them. 

"Let's get starter, shall we," April asked as she wiped away the last of her tears. She out on a brave smile as she made eye contact with her best friend. 

"Thanks," Don replied. 

They started working immediately.

**Author's Note:**

> Here's a link to Robot Don's reference sheet, if anyone is interested! 
> 
> https://lapisdraws01.tumblr.com/post/628662806266413056/so-um-au-where-shredder-manages-to-kill-donnie


End file.
